Les mots de la semaine

By Simon
français English Cymraeg
le rouge à lèvres lipstick minlliw, lliwydd
le rouge, le rouge à joues rouge powdwr coch, rouge, gruddliw
la suie soot huddygl, parddu
être sur le cas to be on the case
dire qch sur un ton pince-sans-rire to say sth tongue in cheek dwueud rhwybeth â’ch tafod yn eich boch
dwueud rhwybeth â’ch tafod am eich dant
rappeler qch à qn to remind sb of sth atgoffa rhywun o rywbeth
dwyn rhywbeth i gof rhywun
l’Hôtel Matignon residence and offices of French Prime Minister
l’orchestre (m) stalls (in a theatre) seddau blaen
la fosse orchestra pit pwll cerddorfa
le balcon (dress) circle (in a theare) seddau’r cylch
cylch y boneddigion
y cylch cyntaf
la loge box (in a theatre) bocs, côr seddau
le lavabo, la cuvette de lavabo wash basin basn ymolchi
la prunelle sloe eirinen dagu
le gin à la prunelle sloe gin jin eirin
racler les fonds de tiroir to scrape the barrel crafu’r gasgen
le chevalier knight marchog
le cavalier knight (in chess) marchog
le plan d’urgence contingency plan cynllun at raid
cynllun wrth gefn

Stalls, stinkards and parterres

By Simon

In theatres in the UK the seats at ground level in front of the stage are usually known as stalls or orchestra stalls. If there are balconies above that level, the first balcony might be known as the dress circle, grand circle or balcony, the second as the upper circle, grand circle, first circle or circle, the third as the upper circle or gallery, and the fourth as the gallery. There may also be private boxes along the sides of the theatre. The exact terms vary from theatre to theatre.

In French the stalls are known as l’orchestre, les fauteuils d’orchestre or le parterre, the first level balcony might be le balcon, the second level balcony might be la galerie, and the third level might be le paradis (paradise) – ‘the gods’ is sometimes used for the highest level of balconies in English. Boxes are les loges.

A parterre in English is a “a formal garden constructed on a level surface, consisting of planting beds, typically in symmetrical patterns, separated and connected by gravel pathways.” [source]. Parterre can also refer to the ground level part of a theatre (stalls) and the audiences who congregate there. The word pit is also used [source]. The denizens of the pit or yard in Shakespeare’s Globe theatre were known as a groundlings, stinkards or penny-stinkers [source].

The French word parterre has also been borrowed into Russian as партер and is used to refer to the stalls in a theatre.

What terms are used in theatres you go to?

Dystopias and Utopias

By Simon

Why is it that so many films and novels set in the future are dystopian?

I thought about this after watching The Hunger Games last night, and tried to think of any stories of utopian futures. The only films I could think featuring non-dystopian futures of were Back to the Future II and Bicentennial Man. Can you think of any others?

The word dystopia combines the Ancient Greek δυσ (dus – bad), and τόπος ‎(tópos – place, region) with the Latin/Ancient Greek suffix ia/ία ‎(-ía). It was derived from the word utopia, which was coined by Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia. The u part of utopia comes from the Greek ou (οὐ – not) and by the 17th century was used to refer to a place or society that was considered perfect or ideal. The prefix ou possibly got confused with εὖ ‎(eû, – well, good). Dystopia was first used by J. S. Mill in a parliamentary speech in 1868 [source].

Matignon and other metonyms

By Simon

Last night I discovered that the French equivalent of “Number 10”, which in the UK refers to the British Prime Minister, is Matignon or L’Hôtel de Matignon, the official residence of the French Prime Minister.

Number 10 is shorthand for Number 10 Downing Street, is the official residence and office of the British Prime Minister, and the headquarters of the executive branch of the British Government. The British Government is also referred to as “Westminster”, from the Palace of Westminster where the British Parliament meets.

The Scottish Parliament is informally referred as “Holyrood” – named after the area of Edinburgh where it meets, while in Northern Irish Assembly is referred as “Stormont”, after the Stormont Estate where the main government buildings are. Stormont comes from the Stoirmhonadh, (place for crossing the mountains) and is named after a district in Perthshire in Scotland. The National Assembly of Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru is referred to as the Assembly in English, and y Cynulliad or y Senedd (the Senate) in Welsh. I don’t know of any particular metonyms for it.

Using the name of a place or building to refer to an institution or other organisation is known as metonymy, from the Greek μετωνυμία (metōnymía) – a change of name. Other examples include using Hollywood to refer to the US film industry, and Silicon Valley to refer to the US high-tech sector.

Are metonyms used to refer to governments, prime ministers, or other government institutions in other countries?

Hajej, můj zlatoušku

By Simon

One of my harps

Dnes jsem se naučil Česká píseň: “Hajej, můj zlatoušku”. To je záznam melodii hrál na harfu:

To je záznam mě zpívat tuto píseň:

Today I started learning the Czech song, “Hajej, můj zlatoušku”, which I think is a lullaby, as the title means something like “Sleep now my little golden one”.

I recorded the tune on the harp, and also recorded myself singing it unaccompanied.

Here’s another recording I made of this song:

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/241783557″ params=”color=ff5500&inverse=false&auto_play=false&show_user=true” width=”100%” height=”20″ iframe=”true” /]

This song comes from the book Třetí Výběr Českých a Moravských Písní (The Third Choice of Czech and Moravian Songs) by Helena Hasilová and Jiří Hasil, which a Czech friend gave me a few years ago.

The words are:

Hajej, můj zlatoušku hajej a spi,
zamhouři maličky očičky svý;
hajej, dadej, nynej, malej!
zamhouři maličký očičky svý.

Hajej, můj andílku, hajej a spi,
matička kolíbá děťátko svý;
hajej, dadej, nynej, malej!
matička kolíbá děťátko svý.

Another recording of this song:

Here’s a translation:

Sleep, my little golden one, sleep.
Close your little eyes and sleep.

Sleep, my little angel, sleep.
Mummy is rocking her little child to sleep.

Thanks to Kája Beránková for help with the translation. Díky!

Flan cupboards

By Simon

A Welsh plygain song I’ve been learning recently with some friends (Carol y Swper) features the word fflangell in the line “Ein Meichiau a’n Meddyg dan fflangell Iddweig”.

We weren’t sure what it meant at first, and guessed that it was some kind of container for a flan or a flan cupboard. A fflan is a flan, and cell means cell or bower, and in compound words can mean a container or building. For example oergell (cold cell) is a fridge, rhewgell (frost/ice cell) is a freezer, and llyfrgell (book cell) is a library.

So we thought the line meant something like “Our arms and doctor under the Jewish flan cupboard.” Hilarity ensued. It actually means “Our Surety and Healer under the Jewish scourge.”

You can hear the whole song at:

We will be singing in a plygain service in Bangor cathedral starting at 7pm on Friday 15th January as Parti Min Menai.

Do you have any examples of mistranslated or misheard song lyrics?

Beaches, pebbles and birds

By Simon

I’ve decided to concentrate on a different language each day from today, and maybe to write a bit in that and/or about that language here. So today and on subsequent Mondays I’ll be playing with Manx (Gaelg).

Ren mee briwnys er my inçhyn cochruinnaghey er çhengey anchasley gagh laa, as bee mee screeu beggan ayns ny mychione y çhengey ayns shoh. Myr shen jiu as er Jelune eiyrtyssagh bee mee cloie rish y Ghaelg.

Some Manx words I’ve come across today:

– boorey = beach, pebbly seashore
– claddagh = beach, bank, littoral, polder, river bank, land by a river
– traie = beach, shore, sandy seashore, strand, neap tide; cool (of anger), retreat, recede; cooling, retreating
– geinnagh = sand
– cashtal-geinnee = sand castle
– sheebey geinnee = sand dune
– shaslagh = marram
– faayr-hraie – deck chair
– famlagh = seaweed
– shlig – shell
– clagh scailley; mynchlagh = pebble

Ta mee cummal faggys da’n boorey. Ta ram claghyn scailley ayn, as cha nel geinnagh ayn. Tra ta’n vooir-hraie ayn, ta traie laaee ayn fey dy reayrt, as ta ram ushagyn ayn er y laaee: fooilleigyn, foillanyn skeddan, bridjeenyn, crottagyn ny glagh, ollee valloo, tunnagyn, guoiee, a.r.e.

I live near the seashore. There are lots of pebbles and there isn’t any sand. When the tide’s low there are mud flats as far as the eye can see, and there are many birds on the mud: black-headed gulls, herring gulls, oystercatchers, curlews, mute swans, ducks, geese, etc.

Sources: On-Line Manx Dictionary, http://www.learnmanx.com, Wikipedia

Corrections and suggestions are always welcome.